He's got a Pulitzer Prize for Maus, but told the New York Times last week that he doesn't even consider it his greatest achievement. “As far as my conscious mind is concerned, ‘Maus’ grew out of a formal set of concerns, not from the deep sump below."

Spiegelman was talking to the paper as a lead up to a retrospective opening Nov. 8 at the Jewish Museum in New York City. He continued the interview upon his return from Australia, where he debuted his new multimedia show with musician Phillip Johnston, Wordless!, at the Sydney Opera House. Talking to TimeOut Sydney, Spiegelman explains how the show "tackle[s] the concept of the graphic novel" — a term he dislikes — and his inspirations from early 20th-century comics that led up to the creation of Maus.

A commenter below the story saw the show and wrote, "Wordless was simply stunning. Art Spiegelman was hilarious, profound, adult and intriguing. And the work he showed, including the apparently little known but truly magnificent Si Lewen, were perfectly complemented by Phillip Johnston's music. It was a privilege to be in the audience."

(There's also a list of Spiegelman's "Hot five canonical graphic novels," which include From Hell, Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.)

And on Jan. 22, the two will perform it again at Colorado College, the first time at a college, CC says, and the second time it's been performed in the U.S. Tickets are only $5, and won't be available until Jan. 17.